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Interested in marketing, writing, and business?

I post ideas from crazy to great, share the best stories that I find on the net, and work hard to provide great content to my readers. From the practical business uses of social media to information on direct mail, I’ve probably written a post on it.

Get involved! Leave a comment and challenge my thinking, or share your tips for success.

I haven’t been blogging for a while, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy. Mostly, I’ve been busy practicing my craft, but I’ve also been spending some time working on ways to share new information with you. I’m proud to announce that one way – maybe the best way – for you to learn what I think is to attend the Saskatchewan Communications Forum in Regina from April 20th to 21st, 2015.

This conference is full of great local speakers and MARCOM talent. The second day of the conference, April 21st, is dedicated to workshops, and I happen to be hosting one! Here’s the description:

Social Media Has Grown Up; Time To Put It To Work For You

Social Media was once the next big thing, but it’s not 2007 anymore. Today, social is just one part of your marketing mix and simply being present is not enough. It’s time to dig deep and take advantage of all that it can offer.

In this workshop you will be learn about social media marketing trends, develop an outline of your ideal customer, create a social strategy, and build a targeted marketing campaign on Facebook.

What are we going to talk about?

Well, like it says, we’re going to delve a little bit into some marketing trends, and see if we can decipher which trends you should fallow, and which ones you shouldn’t (I’m looking at you Ello). We’ll also talk about social strategy (why are you there?) and then we’ll do some digging into just who your customer is. I’ll share some tools, and then we’ll dig deep into one of my favorite platforms – Facebook – and plan a targeted campaign just for you. And, we’ll talk about just how targeted you should get.

Sound good? I hope so!

Here’s how you can take part. Point your browser to this link here. Click on the ‘Register Now’ button, fill in your details, and viola! You can come check it out!

Remember, it’s April 20th and 21st, 2015 at the Delta Hotel. I hope to see you there!

Every once in a while you come across something so amazing and so fresh that you just wish that you had thought of it.

This summer I learned about a behind-the-scenes video that Netflix had produced to promote their streaming fireplace video around Christmas 2013. Since it’s quickly coming up on Christmas 2014, I thought it would be fun to take a look.

And yes, I mean THAT streaming fireplace video. The one you turn on if you don’t have a fireplace in your home, but you feel like hearing wood crackle and pop. To promote the fact that Netflix now offered this program (the same program local cable companies have offered for years, I suspect), Netflix produced a short video about the ‘making of’ – and it’s pure gold.

Raise in your mind every stereotype that you can about film directors. Skinny jeans, hipster facial hair, dark-rimmed glasses, scarf – you name it, and this video features it. In just over 2 minutes, they carefully outline just how much work goes into building the perfect fire for television (“That isn’t a frontside log, that’s a backside log.”)

It’s been coming for a while, but you’ve been busy thinking about other things – such as forming a marketing strategy, setting goals, and acting on your plans. Or maybe you’ve just been cruising Facebook.

Whatever the case, CASL is upon us. CASL (which stands for Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) goes into effect on July 1, 2014 – and it changes everything for marketers.

Well, kind of. First of all, if you’ve been paying attention over the past couple of years, and you’ve been following the rules for CAN-SPAM, then you’re more than half-way there. Two of the biggest requirements of CASL – having a clear unsubscribe option for your email lists and having clear contact information in your emails – will already be met.

Unfortunately for marketers, there’s more. In fact, there’s much more. Some of the new regulations are just common sense (don’t add random people to your email list), but others could potentially be quite onerous. And CASL has some pretty strict penalties too – up to $10,000,000!

And just because CASL is a Canadian law doesn’t mean my American friends can ignore it. CASL covers any email originating from or going to a digital address in Canada – and address includes not just email addresses, but any digital address – including a text message (it doesn’t cover faxes or telephone solicitations because those are already addressed under other legislation). Where is your email provider located? How many of your customers are mail order customers from Canada? If you collect email addresses at point-of-sale, how many of those customers are from Canada? If you’re a mom and pop in Austin, Texas, probably not many. But if you’re located near a border or in a popular travel destination you may have a lot of Canadian customers, and you’ll need to be aware.

I can’t go into detail about the requirements because, frankly, I’m not a lawyer. What I can do is share a couple of resources with you that I have found helpful. The first is the CASL website; it has tons of information about the law and how you can make sure that you conform. The second link is this webinar that was done by Marketo a couple of weeks ago: http://www.marketo.com/webinars/getting-ready-for-the-canadian-anti-spam-legislation/ Not only does it cover a lot of the highlights, there are also some great checklists provided by the host for you to use in your own business.

If you’ve been paying attention up to now, great! If not – you’ve got 4 weeks to get ready. GO!